The present disclosure relates to acoustic pumps, and more particularly to acoustic pumps for micropump applications.
Micropumps are being developed and used in the fields of microfluidics research, including BioMEMS and lab-on-a-chip devices. Currently there are two broad types of micropumps: mechanical and electrochemical. However, each of these types of pumps has limitations. For example, mechanical pumps typically have moving parts. These parts result in pumps that may be complex, may be difficult to manufacture, and may be less reliable. Electrochemical pumps typically work on the basis of volume expansion due to chemical reaction. Usually these types of pumps include a membrane that expands to create the pumping action that drives fluid flow. However, electrochemical micropumps may be expensive, may not being tuneable to different speeds, and may result in permeation of reactants and products.
The present disclosure addresses one or more deficiencies in the prior art.